Rankings: Miocic, Maia and Branch on the rise

Before his record-tying title defense at UFC 211 against Junior Dos Santos, Stipe Miocic said that he couldn’t care less about his growing legacy in the sport.

“If I keep winning, I’ll have a legacy,” Miocic said to MMAJunkie on May 10. “But I’m not here to make a legacy – I’m here to win.”

Miocic extended his win streak to five at UFC 211 – all knockouts and the last four have come in the first round – and moved up a spot in the pound-4-pound rankings in the official UFC rankings release.

UFC president Dana White said that welterweight Demian Maia earned the title shot he’s been chasing ever since moving down to 170 pounds with his win over Jorge Masvidal. Maia took his place as the No. 1-ranked welterweight, passing Stephen Thompson (No. 2) and former champion Robbie Lawler.

David Branch made his return to the Octagon at UFC 211, outlasting Krzysztof Jotko. The two now sit tied at No. 9 on the middleweight list.

In the strawweight division, Cortney Casey dominated Jessica Aguilar on UFC FIGHT PASS and knocked the veteran down to No. 15 in the rankings while she assumed the No. 11 spot after not being ranked going into the fight.